Excitement pushed Madison to brush the dirt off the key as fast as she could. She didn't care if her hands were dirty, or even if her dress became soiled. This key had actually opened the door. Did Gretchen know about this key at all? The woman hadn't mentioned losing a key.

Madison blew against the key and the loosened dirt fell off the top. She brushed her thumb across it...and froze.

Everything around her vanished, and no longer was she kneeling in the dirt. Instead, her vision swept her away to the past. The little girl sat on the cot in the small room, staring at a boy, perhaps in his sixteenth year or thereabouts. He wore a top hat and the overcoat of a gentleman, and yet the garments hung on his thin frame and the hat tilted low on his forehead, shadowing his eyes. He stood at the opened door, reaching out his hand to the girl.

"Come with me," he said quietly. "Something has happened to your mother and I need to take you to her."

"M-m-ma?" The girl's voice squeaked.

"Yes. Come quickly."

The girl hesitated but then slipped her hand into the boy's hand. He pulled her out of the back room before closing the door and locking it. He dropped the key into the bed of dirt and kicked the soil over the top.

The boy glanced all around him before darting away from the building. The girl stumbled, but then righted herself and kept her small legs moving to keep up with the boy. He ran in back of the buildings, up toward the north end of town. So far, they hadn't come across any people.

Out of breath, the girl tripped and fell to the ground. She sobbed and shook her head. "I can't."

"Yes, you can," the boy encouraged. "We must hurry so I can take you to your mother."

"She's buying a bonnet." The girl glanced in back of her, pointing to the shop, much smaller than it had been when she'd left.

"No, she's gone. Now I need to take you to her."

The boy seemed genuinely nice and caring, so the girl felt as though she could trust him. She slipped her hand into his out-stretched hand again as he helped her to her feet. Together, they took off running again, until the end of the town was in view.

Panic surged through the girl. Ma? She stopped and jerked her hand away. "No. I don't see my ma."

"I know, but she's not here. That's why I'm taking you to her."

The frightened girl nodded and slipped her hand back into his. As they passed the next building, another boy jumped from out of the shadows and landed in front of them. This boy was slightly taller, and had wider shoulders. His hair was strawberry-blond.

He held a knife and swiped it across the smaller boy's hand. Yelping, he released the girl and covered the cut as he pierced the bigger boy with a fierce gaze.

"Where's my money?" the strawberry-blond boy asked.

The slender lad's hat fell off his head. Long, dark brown hair brushed into his face, making it hard to see his identity. "I don't have it yet," he glanced at the little girl, "but I will. That's why I've taken her."

The larger boy threw the girl a scowl. "What does she have to do with it?"

"I'm going to get the money from her parents."

Tears filled the girl's eyes and she shook her head. She didn't know what was going on, but she felt as though this boy was not being honest with her. Something in the back of her mind yelled at her to run...to run back into town where other people could see her.

She darted around the boys and scurried down the alley in between two buildings. Up ahead there were men riding on horses and couples sitting in buggies. The footsteps behind her pounded the ground quickly, getting louder by the second. They'd catch her, she just knew it.

Fright of the worst kind finally gripped her. She screamed as loud as she could. For some reason, this made her run faster. Either that or the boys in back of her decided to slow down.

Finally, she reached the street, and she turned right. Not more than five steps in front of her was a woman wearing a drab, gray dress with a tattered shawl around her shoulders. The girl screamed again and lunged, reaching out her hands to take hold of the woman's dress...

"Madison!"

Slowly, she came out of her vision. Dizziness filled her head as she glanced around her to gain her bearings. She was in a man's strong hold as he pulled her away from an oncoming carriage rushing through the street.

Groaning, she rubbed her head. What was I doing in the street when I had just been kneeling in the dirt?

"I honestly don't know what to do about you when you're like this," the man grumbled.

Madison inhaled deeply. The scent of spice mixed with leather surrounded her. Cameron, she sighed. Although her body was weak, she managed to turn her head and look at the robust man holding her. She smiled. "What are you doing here?"

He arched one of his eyebrows. "I should ask you the same." He motioned his head toward the road. "You were wandering around as if in a daze, and you nearly became part of the road a second ago."

"Thank you for saving me." She tried to regulate her breathing again. Of course, being in his arms, smelling his manly scent and gazing into his remarkable eyes didn't help, either. "I wish I could tell you why I did that. But I was having a vision."

Madison looked around them, noticing the buildings and the section of town. What was she doing here? "Cameron? Where is Gretchen's Millinery?"

"Way down the road. Why?"

"Because that was where I had my vision." She pulled away from him, testing the strength in her legs. She was still frail, but thankfully, she could at least stand by herself. "Cameron, I usually don't walk around when I have a vision."

Worry escalated inside of her. Had her visions taken her to a new level? This couldn't be good.

"You were at the millinery, you say?" he asked.

She looked into his handsome face again. "Yes. In the back of the building."

Suddenly, she recalled every second of her vision, and especially, what had caused her to see what she had. "Oh, Cameron." She clutched his arm. "I found a key buried in the patch of dirt right outside the backdoor. The key was rusted, and it unlocked the door. That is why I had a vision."

His frown deepened. "What did you see?"

"I saw the boy who took the little girl."

His forehead creased and he slowly shook his head. "A boy took Hanover's daughter?"

"Yes. He was thin and probably in his sixteenth year. He had the key that opened the door."

"And he grabbed her and pulled her out of the room?"

"No. He was nice and gentle." She stared at the road. "He told her that he was going to take her to her mother." A pain throbbed in her head and she rubbed her temples. "She believed him, so she went with him. But then another boy stopped them and yelled at the other, accusing him of not having his money." She lifted her gaze to Cameron's. "From what I gathered, the boy was desperate for money so he was going to kidnap her and seek a ransom from her father."

Cameron's eyes widened and he stared blankly at her. She didn't know what had caused this reaction, but she worried she might have said something that he didn't like. Again. Yet, she hadn't said anything about Rosie. "Cameron? What are you thinking?"

He sighed heavily, making his wide shoulders relax. "Madison, we need to talk. I need to tell you what I found out when I read my father's notes on this case." He glanced up the street before meeting her stare again. "But we can't talk here."

"Where, then?"

"I will take you back to my house, if that is permissible."

Eh? What was he talking about permissible? He'd taken her back to his house a few times already. Why was he suddenly thinking about propriety? "Of course it is."

"Can you go now?"

"Yes." Her chest tightened. He was being too withdrawn.